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From the Desk of

Rep. Dovilla
At the Statehouse

Around the 7th

Upcoming Events

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214 Responses to
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134- Proud New
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Alexis Nieszczur
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Presidents Honor List
Julia Oppedisano
Fourth-place in the
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St. Joseph
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125th Anniversary

From the Desk of Rep. Dovilla

Dear 7th District Resident:

Although cold, snowy weather continues here
in the Buckeye State, a new legislative session and
biennial budget season are heating up the Ohio
Statehouse. And we know that despite the coldest
February in Clevelands recorded history, spring,
warmer weather, and a new baseball season are just
around the corner!
Last week, the House Finance Committee
unanimously reported the two-year transportation
budget. The measure (House Bill 53) is scheduled to
be on the floor this week. Our focus now shifts to
the main operating budget (House Bill 64), for which
hearings will continue in Finance subcommittees.
More information on both of these pieces of
legislation, as well as my ongoing policy agenda for
the 131st General Assembly, is below in our At the
Statehouse section.
It has been a busy month in the district as well, as
we have launched our first round of office hours for
2015, attended Eagle Scout courts of honor at our
Boy Scout troops, and conducted meetings on a
range of issues including education and health care,
key elements of our leadership teams Ohio 2020
public policy vision. See our Around the 7th
segment below for details on my recent
engagements, as well as our calendar of upcoming
events.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you in the
Ohio House of Representatives. If we may be of
assistance to you or your family, or you wish to share

your perspectives on an issue, please contact our

office at 614-466-4895 or Rep07@ohiohouse.gov.
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Sincerely,
State Representative Mike Dovilla
House Majority Whip

At the Statehouse
On February 2, Governor Kasich presented his
biennial budget proposal to the General Assembly
for consideration. The House of Representatives is
now in its fourth week of conducting hearings on
various elements of this proposal. In reality, each
two-year budget is composed of four budgets, which
advance through the legislative process in the
following order: transportation; Bureau of Workers
Compensation/Industrial Commission (these two
move together); and main operating.
As a new member of the Finance
Subcommittee on Transportation this session, as
well as a continuing member of the full Finance
Committee, the past month has been particularly
busy with hearings on the transportation and main

operating budget bills, H.B. 53 and H.B. 64,

respectively. We expect H.B. 53 to be on the House
floor this week for a vote. The measure will
appropriate $7.06 billion over the biennium for
transportation, public safety, public works, and
development services. Of note for our House
District is the inclusion of another $5 million for the
Turnpike Mitigation Program, an initiative I helped
establish two years ago to assist our communities in
managing the impact of the toll road, which
traverses every suburb in the 7th District from
Olmsted Township to North Royalton. After action
by the Senate and a conference committee process,
the law must be enacted by March 31 in order to
take effect by the start of construction season on
July 1 (90 days after enactment).
With respect to the main operating budget,
H.B. 64, I appreciate the robust communication I
have received from many constituents during the
past month. The governors budget, once again, is
an ambitious plan with a lot of moving parts, and as
always it is subject to change as the legislative
branch puts its stamp on the bill. As I mention every
other February, the enactment of the states budget
is a lengthy, intensive process one that stretches
across five months for the Legislature and which has
its roots in weeks of preliminary work by the
governor and his staff. Ultimately, the executives
proposal is just that a proposal. The House,
Senate, and a Committee of Conference to work out
the differences between the two versions of the bill
that inevitably develop in the Legislature will work
their will between now and the end of June.
Whether it is the series of proposed changes to
Ohios tax system, the public school funding
formula, or a plethora of other policy matters
contained in the 2,783 page As Introduced version
of the bill, I encourage you to continue contacting
our office with your views, questions, and concerns
in the coming weeks and months. I am proactively
traveling the district to receive input from
organizations and individuals, and I invite you to be
a part of this process by calling or e-mailing us at
614-466-4895 or Rep07@ohiohouse.gov.

In other news at the Statehouse, I am pleased

to report that I have introduced the following bills,
which are starting to advance through the legislative
process:

House Bill 2 Community (charter) school

reforms accountability, transparency,
accountability

House Bill 22 George V. Voinovich Bridge

designation (I-90/Inner Belt in Cleveland)

House Bill 24 Ohio Elder Justice Act

(reintroduction of H.B. 49 from the 130th
General Assembly)

House Bill 46 Open Ohio government

expenditure transparency website
(reintroduction of H.B. 175 from the 130th
General Assembly)

House Bill 22 passed the House earlier this month

and is now being considered by the Senate. The
other measures have each had at least one hearing
in House committees.

Around the 7th

During the past month, I have maintained an

active schedule around our district, participating in
the following events:

On January 31, I hosted District Office Hours

at the Cuyahoga County Public Library in
Berea.
On January 31, I presented a House
commendation to Eagle Scout Christian
Kilgore at American Legion Post 91 in Berea.
On February, 2, I presented a House
Resolution to Eva Pate, a national ice dancing
medalist, at the Strongsville City Council
meeting. At this meeting, we also honored
retiring Fire Chief Jeff Branic, thanking him
for his many years of distinguished service to
our community.
On February 8, our office presented
certificates to Cub Scouts crossing over to
become Boy Scouts at the annual Pack 526
Blue and Gold Banquet at St. Albert the Great
Church in North Royalton.
On February 14, I hosted District Office Hours
at the Cuyahoga County Public Library in
Olmsted Falls.
On February 15, our office presented House
commendations to new Eagle Scouts of Troop
226 at Strongsville High School.
On February 16, I met with Jo Ann Boggs of
Hanson House (Traumatic Brain Injury
Clubhouse) in Berea.
On February 20, I met with the
superintendents and treasurers of our four
public school districts to discuss testing issues
and the executives proposal regarding school
funding for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.
On February 20, I met with representatives of
the Northeast Ohio Health Agency Coalition at
MetroHealth in Middleburg Heights.
On February 23, I participated in the monthly
meeting of the Ohio Turnpike and
Infrastructure Commission at OTIC HQ in
Berea.
On February 27, I joined Speaker Cliff

Rosenberger for his remarks at the City Club

of Cleveland on our Ohio 2020 public policy
vision.

Upcoming Events

Upcoming events of note on our official

calendar and in the communities of the 7th House
District include the following:

March 7 (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.): Rep. Dovilla

hosts District Office Hours, Cuyahoga County
Public Library, North Royalton. All are
welcome to drop by for a one-on-one, noappointment-needed meeting with their state
legislator between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
March 16 (10:00 a.m.): Standing monthly
meeting, Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure
Commission, OTIC HQ, Berea
March 20 (2:00-3:30 p.m.): Consumer Fraud
Seminar with Attorney General Mike DeWine,
Crystal Waters Retirement Community,
Strongsville
April 4 (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.): Rep. Dovilla
hosts District Office Hours, Cuyahoga County
Public Library, Strongsville. All are welcome
to drop by for a one-on-one, no-appointmentneeded meeting with their state legislator
April 10: 11th Annual Berea Kiwanis Empty
Bowl Soup Supper, Berea-Midpark High
School

For more information on any event or to

submit an event for inclusion in a future issue of the
7th District Newsletter, please email our office at
Rep07@ohiohouse.gov. Thank you!